Memories
by Diamond-chan
Summary: Spoilers for SAR: Zack struggling to remember his past is haunted by a girl w/ brown hair & eyes. So he decides to leave the ranch and reclaim his past CH.3: Zack/Adam leaves the ranch and goes to Seattle
1. Default Chapter

  
  


Memories 

Life at the ranch was nice. It was fairly routine: get up in the morning, eat breakfast, do a few mundane tasks, fixing broken fences, chopping wood, shoeing a horse or two. Come in and eat lunch. Drive to Dalewood the nearest town about fifteen miles away from the ranch to get a couple things for the Thompson's. Then come back to the ranch, eat dinner and go to bed.   
In the morning it would start up all over again. Same old, same old. Like an ever turning wheel of life. No variations just the same set pattern.   
He had come home from the hospital almost four months ago and he still didn't remember a single thing from his life before his car accident. That was all right, the Thompson's said. It'll come back to you in time, they told him.   
But it didn't and Zack or Adam as he was known, was starting to get worried even though he didn't show it. His memories weren't coming back at all and he was plagued by strange dreams.   
Dreams of little kids about ten with barcodes on the back of their necks, like the one on his. The kids had sad eyes, eyes too old to belong to kids their age. He dreamed of breaking glass, flashing lights, sirens going off, bitter cold, pain and an overwhelming sense of failure. Failure to do what Adam didn't know.   
But most of all he dreamed about the girl. The girl with long brown hair and sorrowful brown eyes. The girl who had said no, when he asked if he knew her in the hospital waiting room as he was discharged from the hospital. And the feelings of protectiveness and determination and love, he always felt when he saw her in his dreams.   
She was in his dreams very often, almost every night. Dreams of her happy and sad, with blood covering her and with tears falling down her cheeks. With her laugh ringing through the air and a happy light in her eyes. She haunted him, and Adam for the life of him couldn't figure out why.   
~~~   
Adam moaned in his sleep and turned over on to his side as he slept. The girl's face floated above him. She was crying, her face streaked with tears and an expression of absolute sadness on her face. She kept shaking her head and murmuring over and over again, "I'm so sorry, please forgive me."   
Adam felt a pang in his heart. He didn't want her to be sorry for whatever she was sorry for. She shouldn't be sad and be crying. She should be laughing and happy. He felt the feelings of love and protectiveness wash over him. He started to reach for her, to tell her, he forgived her. To make her stop crying and stop feeling sad. He didn't want her to cry. He didn't want her to be sad.   
Suddenly a loud ringing noise cut through his dream.   
Adam bolted up right. The alarm clock kept ringing. It's glowing red numbers read six a.m. Adam reached over and turned off the alarm clock. Pushing back the covers he got out of bed. He dressed quickly. From downstairs the smell of coffee, eggs, bacon and toast drifted up.   
Adam's stomach in response rumbled loudly. Adam walked silently across the bedroom to the door. He paused, his hand on the knob. Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of his reflection in the mirror. He was tall and lean He had blond hair that was slightly mussed up from tossing and turning as he slept. His blue eyes had a slightly haunted look in them.   
Suddenly, his reflection blurred, and in it's place, staring at him was the girl. Tears were rolling down her face. Her brown eyes were stricken and begging. She was pleading over and over again for forgiveness.   
From somewhere far off someone was screaming. That person was him. There was a sound of shattering glass, a shard cut him in the cheek. Blackness flooded his vision.   



	2. Memories 2

  
  


Memories 2 

Adam woke to find himself laying on the ground. His head pounded like an off beat drum and he felt a tightness around his temples. With a groan he raised a hand to massage them lightly to ease the tension.   
  
Adam got up from the floor and turned his head to look in the mirror half expecting to see the image of the girl in it again.  
The mirror was cracked, spiderwebs of cracks were splintering off in all directions. All he saw in the mirror was his reflection, slightly distorted because of the cracks on the mirror. There was a long narrow cut on his cheek. As he raised his right hand to gently touch it he saw there were several cuts on his knuckles and on the back of his hand.   
  


~~~ 

  
  
He walked down the stairs to the kitchen, his brow furrowed as he mulled over his thoughts.   
He nodded hello to the Thompsons and sat down at the table pouring himself a cup of coffee.   
"Morning," he said taking a sip of coffee.   
"Good morning Adam," Bud Thompson replied chewing his scrambled eggs.   
"What happened to your hand and face?" Mary Thompson asked.   
Adam liked Mary Thompson. She was a kind, plump motherly woman with sparkling brown eyes and a serious face that hid a great sense of humor. She fussed over him like a mother hen always insisting that he had to have another helping of food to "put some meat on your bones." Adam liked the attention. He had begun to think of Mary as almost a mother to him.   
  
"I just cut myself, that's all." He replied draining his cup of coffee with a gulp.   
He got up from the table and walked over toward the back door, grabbing an apple on the way.   
  


~~~ 

  
Bud watched Adam go out the door his eyes worried.   
"Do you think he remembers anything?" Mary asked voicing his exact thoughts.   
" I don't know. The doctor said it would be next to impossible. But who knows." Bud answered.   
"He has been acting a bit strange lately though," Mary murmured.   
"There's nothing we can do," Bud took another bite of scrambled eggs, ending the conversation.   


~~~ 

  
Adam walked toward the small little barn that housed the three ranch horses. As he opened the door soft nickers and whinnies greeted him. He went over to his favorite horse, Friska. Friska was a coppery chestnut half Quarter Horse mix. She has a white blaze and two white front feet. Her short mane had some wood shavings in it, evidence that she had rolled during the night.   
  
"Hey girl," Adam said softly opening the stall door to let himself in.   
Friska nickered softly stepping toward him to nose at his pocket.   
With a grin Adam pulled the apple out of his pocket and fed it to Friska. As she ate her apple, he got out her grooming tools. He hummed softly as he groomed her falling into a happy half daze that only work could induce.   
  
After grooming Friska he mucked out her stall and replaced the soiled wood shavings with new clean fresh ones. He did the same to the other two horses, Rascal and Lady.   
  
Rascal was a black and white paint horse with a white face and one blue eye. His clownish appearance suited him. He was a spunky and fast horse with a ground eating canter that was as smooth as silk. Lady was a pretty gray mare with a black mane and tail and black stockings on her legs. She was a sweetheart with a heart of gold and amazing 'cow sense.'   
  
Finishing quickly he tacked up Friska and tied a saddle bag containing wire, clippers and his a thermos of coffee in case he got thirsty. There had been a big storm last night and he was worried that some of the fences might have fallen down in the strong winds last night.   
  
He urged Friska in to a canter away from the barn.   
  


~~~ 

  
  
His suspicions about the fences were right. He slowed Friska down to a walk and then finally stopped her in front of a section of the fence. The hard winds the night before had completely knocked it down. The boards lay haphazardly on the ground. Luckily there were no cattle in this section of the ranch so he didn't have to worry about finding any and bringing them back to the ranch.   
  
Adam dismounted Friska letting the reins drop onto the ground. Friska was trained to "ground tie" so he didn't have to worry about her running away. He pulled out the tools he would need to fix the fence and got to work.   
  
Adam straightened after pounding the last fence post into the ground and wiring it up. He wiped some sweat off his brow and stretched to relieve his cramped muscles. Friska was grazing on the grass nearby, she had barely moved five feet. Adam strode over to her. As he approached her, she raised her head from the ground and looked at him with perked eyes. He gently rubbed her muzzle and then opened the saddlebags and took out his sandwich and thermos of coffee.   
  
Adam sat down on the grass and started eating. The sandwich was ham and cheese his favorite and had just the right amount of mayonnaise and cheese to make it taste good without making it too bland. Adam smiled Mary was an expert cook and could make almost anything taste good. He drowned the last bite of ham and cheese with a gulp of coffee that was still hot.   
  
After eating he put his garbage into the saddlebags. It was a warm and sunny day with just the right hint of breeze. A picture perfect day, as Mary would have called it. Adam laid down on the grass. He smothered a yawn with the back of his hand. He was slightly tired, working on the fence all morning had made him sleepy. He closed his eyes, soon the warmth of the sun and warm breeze lulled him into sleep.   
  


~~~ 

  
  
It was that girl again.   
She was looking at him with those brown eyes of hers, so full of sadness that it made Adam's heart wrench. A tear fell down her cheek, then another and another until she was weeping, murmuring over and over again ,"I'm so sorry, please forgive me."   
  
Suddenly a man appeared next to her. He was about Adam's height with brown hair and was a bit unshaven but not unattractively so. His eyes stared into Adam's with a sort of mocking challenge in them. As Adam watched he wrapped an arm around the girl and pulled her to him, holding her against his chest. All the while he kept staring at Adam with that look of mocking challenge in his eyes.   
  
Adam felt resentment and anger building inside of him. He met the man's gaze with his own, his eyes glacier cold. The man smiled, as if amused. Then he and the girl disappeared   
  


~~~ 

  
  
Adam awoke with a jerk. The sun was just starting to set in the sky. Everything was tinted with the shades of twilight. He got up from the grass and mounted Friska. He turned her in the direction of the ranch and urged her into a gallop. Tears caused by the wind streamed down his cheeks. All the while he kept seeing the girl's sorrowful eyes and the man's mocking ones over and over in his mind.   
  



	3. Memories3

  
  


Memories 3 

Note: Yes I know Zack/Adam's last name is Thompson but I'm using it for Bud and Mary's instead.   
  
Adam had made up his mind.   
He was going to leave the ranch and go to Seattle. He would find the girl that kept haunting his dreams and would get the answers to his questions.   
And to his past.   
  


  
  
He slowed Friska to a walk as he reached the ranch. Quickly he untacked her and put her in her stall in the stables. He gently rubbed her muzzle. She nickered softly and nudged his shoulder. He felt his eyes sting with suppressed tears. He would miss her.   
  
Walking away from the stables he headed toward the house. It was empty. Bud was working in one of the fields and Mary was gone. She had left a note on the fridge saying that she was going to town to get a few things and had taken the truck. Adam read the note quickly. He bit his lip. He would miss Bud and Mary they had been good to him, treating him like their own son. He pushed away his thoughts. He had to do this.   
  
He then went up to his room to pack his belongings. He didn't really have much anyway: basic toiletries, a few changes of clothes, a wallet of money and a sector pass to get him into Seattle. All of that he packed into a rucksack.   
  
He swung the rucksack onto his back and started walking out of his room. He paused in the doorway of the room, it didn't feel right to just leave without telling the Thompsons. They had been far too good to him to just leave without any notice. He walked over to his dresser and pulling open a drawer he took out a pen and paper. He frowned at the paper thinking. After a few minutes he started writing.   
He wrote:   
Dear Bud and Mary,   
I'm leaving for Seattle. I want to thank you both for all you've done for me. Someday when I've got everything figured out and fixed I'll come back. Until then take care of yourselves.   
Sincerely,   
Adam.   
  
He folded the piece of paper and left it on his pillow. Leaving the room he went downstairs to the kitchen and took a few supplies of food. It wasn't much just enough to tide him over for a few days. Stuffing the food into his rucksack along with the rest of his belongings, he left the house.   
  
There was a garage behind the house.   
It housed the Thompson's truck, the farm tractor and Adam's most prized possession: his motorcycle. They had gotten it about a month or so after Adam's "accident."   
  
Before Adam had fixed it up it had been a wreck, flat tires, an engine that should belong in a scrap dump instead of in a motorcycle and it had been so covered with dirt and grime whatever color it had once been was impossible to tell.   
  
But Adam had fixed it up. Both tires had air in it now, it also had a new engine that purred like a kitten and all the dirt and grime had been washed away revealing that it was a black Harley Davidson Intruder*.   
  
Adam opened the garage door and strode over to his motorcycle.   
"Hey baby," he said softly gently stroking the leather seat.   
  
He wheeled it out of the garage and closed the door behind him. He swung onto the motorcycle and started it up. The engine purred softly and the frame shook slightly as if it was impatient to start moving. Adam grinned and put his helmet on. Pulling down the visor over his face, he started the motorcycle up, and roared away from the Thompson's ranch.   
  


~~~ 

  
  
The ride to Seattle usually took six or seven hours, but Adam cut it down to four. The Intruder seemed to fly over the ground. He leaned forward grinning behind his visor. There was nothing in the world to compare to the feeling of riding a fast motorcycle, you were so free you felt you could almost take off into the sky and soar like a bird.   
  
He slowed down as he reached the checkpoint that lead to Seattle. If you weren't approved by the sector police you didn't get in.   
Period.   
There was a huge line and it was moving very slowly. The sector police were taking their time today.   
  
Adam stilled the engine and contented himself to wait. After almost three hours he was in front of the sector police. He handed one of them his sector pass. The man scanned it quickly to make sure everything was in order before handing it back to Adam. He waved at him impatiently to continue on.   
_Sector police, you can always count on them to be polite, _Adam thought wryly.   
Right before him was Seattle. The City might be dirty, dilapidated, crime filled and overall poor; but underneath all the dirt, pollution and dust, it still held the same majesty and elegance that had made it one of the most powerful cities in pre-pulse America.   
  
And here in Seattle, he would find the answers to his past.   
  


~~~~

  
  
My stepdad has a Harley Davidson Intruder. It's one cool bike! Of course he'd kill me if I ever even touched it. :: rolls eyes:: .   
Ja!   
Jessie. 


End file.
